Epilogue

SERAPHINA

A n hour is not enough time to get a wedding together, but somehow when I call my sister, Madeline, she acts as if she knew it was going to happen. There are no questions about who or what the fresh hell is going on, only where and when does she need to arrive.

She shows up at the Buck ‘N Dash Diner like a bat out of hell, carrying a freshly dry-cleaned white wedding gown.

Sweat drips down her face. “I couldn’t let you get married without the dress.” She yanks up the dry-cleaning plastic to reveal the bottom half of the dress.

“The dress?” I ask, perplexed. Recognition clicks into place. “Is this really Mama’s dress?” I feel my face turning red. I wave my hands to cool my burning cheeks as tears well.

“No need to cry. She’d be happy to have you wear it, just like she said when we were girls.” Madeline wraps her arms around me and gives me a tight squeeze. “Come on, we don’t have much time until you’ll meet your groom at the altar. I should have known you’d get into loads of trouble when you said you wanted to have fun. You always surprise me, Sera.”

She pushes the dress my way and gently shoves me toward the small bathroom to change.

“Do you think that spell you did really made all of this happen?” I whisper to myself, pulling the dress on over my head. It fits like perfection, a mermaid styled wedding dress with delicate beading and lace.

I saunter out of the stall with my arms held wide to show off my figure.

“You look like a dream,” Madeline says, turning me to zip me up. “I think you placed your order with the universe. It was about saying you were ready, no needs or wants, but deserving of love. Love is a beautiful thing. You now have your wolf.”

“Wolf?” I never mentioned anything to her about Kieran or the pack being wolves. It isn’t my place to reveal those secrets.

“Yep, they are monogamous and mate for life. Did you know?” Madeline winks at me.

We exit the bathroom and walk through the diner. Kieran’s aunt appears and hands me a bouquet of wildflowers, while members of his pack open the door to the diner for me to head outside.

The sound of an acoustic guitar playing draws me toward the picnic area where Kieran and I talked only a few hours ago. Madeline walks with me, arm and arm, and there standing at the foot of the picnic table stands Kieran, handsome, tall. On each side of him are his parents, while his brother Rico strums the guitar to the side. Members of the pack stand on both sides as well.

As Madeline and I head toward them, the pack we pass closes in around us, and by the time we reach Kieran we are encircled by them. Kieran thanks Madeline, who steps to the side, and takes my hand into his. My heart flutters wildly at his touch.

“It is Fate’s string that binds us together, that these two have found each other through space and time,” Mortimer intones in greeting, “This is not just a union of witches and wolves, but of a promise of a new life and age of prosperity for us all. As love blooms, so shall the magic that encapsulates all that we hold dear.” He shifts his attention to Kieran, and places a ritual cloth over our clasped hands.

“Do you, Kieran Merek, take Seraphina Rose Putnam to be your mate, to be bound to each other holding love at its center, kindness and respect, for each other?”

“Absolutely.” He shoots me a broad smile.

“Do you, Seraphina Rose Putnam, take Kieran Merek, Alpha of the Pine Pack, to be your one and only, bound to each other, holding love at its center, kindness and respect for each other?”

Kieran stares at me, never breaking his hold. I give his hand a squeeze. “I do.”

Mortimer blesses us and the crowd goes wild with the sounds of wolves howling in celebration lighting up the night.

Placing my hand to his chest, Kieran leads me away. Within seconds we stand alone under the moonlight, the sounds of the pack celebrating not far off.

“I know this might not be the most perfect way to start a new beginning, dear wife, but I’ll make it up to you.” He kisses me, sweet at first and then meltingly passionate as a rumble in his chest vibrates against mine. He pulls back, panting, and fixes his bedroom eyes on me. “How about we sneak off and I make it up to you right now? What do you say?”

I smile back. “I say, what Fate has joined together should get joined again…and again and again.”

He growls his agreement against my lips and scoops me up in his arms as if he’s carrying me off into our happily ever after. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

THE END